Bye bye Lakers season-

[tsb2000]

Kobe just went down with an ankle injury against the Cavs. Didn't look good; he had to be carried off the court after being down for several minutes.

[ducks]

they may have to play team ball now

kobe gets to see how good his teamates are

[RobinsontoDuncan]

Kobe just went down with an ankle injury against the Cavs.


Haleelujja, god is listening.

Actually, how much you wanna bet that the lakers win the draft lottery?

[adidas11]

Actually, how much you wanna bet that the lakers win the draft lottery?

LMAO!!! :lol

[violentkitten]

couldnt have happened to a nicer guy

[T Park]

sprained ankle, hell be back in a few days.

Or in his case tommarow.

He has a thing for melodramatics.

[violentkitten]

and blondes

[Johnny_Blaze_47]

http://www.wildturkeybreakfast.com/d5tv.jpg

Down goes Kobe! Down goes Kobe!

Seriously, though. You don't like to see a guy get injured. Hope he's okay.

[violentkitten]

actually you dont care if hes hurt or not much like you dont care if OJ cuts himself while trimming the hedges

justice dont have to come from the court man

[exstatic]

Ankle injuries are notoriously painful right away. It could only be a handful of games that he'd miss. Stay tuned for the next few days.

[violentkitten]

if kobe bryant had the talent of a jayson williams right now hed be trying to make a comeback by playing for the yakima sun kings

must we live our lives so oblivious to any standards of decency whatsoever

[ShoogarBear]

sprained ankle, hell be back in a few days.

Or in his case tommarow.

He has a thing for melodramatics.

EXACTLY.

I wouldn't be shocked if he miraculously came back tonight.

[T Park]

well, from the sound of it, it could turn out more serious.

The doctor said possible torn plantar fascia.

If thats the case, hes done for the year.

But more than likely, hes back for the next game, or misses just one game.

[violentkitten]

he should be done for life

man someone could get away with murder in this country if they are a famous athlete

oh wait oh jay done did that

[Johnny_Blaze_47]

http://images.sportsline.com/u/gettyimages/photos/51575946JG003_Cavs_Lakers011323_lower.jpg

[Johnny_Blaze_47]

$10 says Ira Newble never has to buy a beer again.

[boutons]

Think back to Tim's and Tony's ankles that kept both out for much of Oct/Nov 03, and Manu's for months in 02.

For a serious ankle sprain, out for 2-3 weeks easily.

During which time, LA might play very well, completely negating Kobe's importance. :)

[violentkitten]

how awful that kobe should have such pain thrust upon him

[milkyway21]

No Kobe?
Odom said "it's okay". He made 22 pts and 7 assists.... and leading by 1 pt. Now Kobe can take a look on his teammates, & start to share the ball when he comes back...

[Kori Ellis]

He's having an MRI tomorrow. They think there might be some sort of ligament damage.

[milkyway21]

my God! so much happening in the last minute. the Cavs won't just give it up. If not of that turnover by ZI they could have won the game. nice 3 by James, but I am sorry they lost.

[LakerGod]

who needs Kobe?

Lakers win without him...

[ShoogarBear]

Shoulda thought of that before you cut Shaq and Phil loose . . .

[Aggie Hoopsfan]

Yeah, it worked out great for Indy when they lost O'Neal, too.

Dumbass.

[Solid D]

Interesting - Lakers shoot .388 to the Cavs .481 from the floor, have the same number of rebounds, but win 98-94.

However.....

Cavs FTs 11-16, Lakers 28-35 :lol

[atlfan25]

who needs Kobe?

Lakers win without him...

Lakers would definitely be better without Bryant.

[Dex]

Interesting - Lakers shoot .388 to the Cavs .481 from the floor, have the same number of rebounds, but <a href="http://www.serverlogic3.com/lm/rtl3.asp?si=11&k=win%2098" onmouseover="window.status='win 98'; return true;" onmouseout="window.status=''; return true;">win 98</a>-94.

However.....

Cavs FTs 11-16, Lakers 28-35 :lol

I wonder what's up with the discrepancy in free throws?

Oh wait. The game was at the Staples.

Nevermind. :rolleyes

[milkyway21]

Lakers would definitely be better without Bryant. :lol :lol :lol

James one asst shy of a triple double? Lakers only won that game on freethrows...that's for sure. :rolleyes

[3rdCoast]

fuck the lakers.

[SLOVENIAN 8]

Cool now Vujačič will play! :elephant :spin

[ALVAREZ6]

So how long is the rapist gonna be out for.

[Experiment2100]

Let's go Lakers, I hope they go on an absolute tear with Bryant out. With Bryant gone, there's really no reason to hate the team.

[boutons]

Sounds like serveral weeks.

With Bryant, LA is 6th in WC. Without Bryant, LA may miss the playoffs.

===================================

LAKERS 98, CLEVELAND 94

Painful Victory

# Bryant injures ankle, team picks up slack to defeat Cavaliers


Painful Victory

By Mike Bresnahan, LA Times Staff Writer

Kobe Bryant sat down hard in the back of a golf cart, folded the wooden crutches across his lap and was carted away from the Laker locker room, a means
of transportation feared most by Laker officials.

One of the Lakers' worst visions became reality Thursday night, with Bryant crumpled on the floor, clutching his right ankle and getting carried off the court in front of a silent crowd of 18,997 at Staples Center.


Bryant, second in the league in scoring, went up for a rebound midway through the first quarter, came down on the foot of Cleveland Cavalier guard Ira Newble and was diagnosed with a severely sprained ankle. X-rays were negative, and Bryant will undergo an MRI exam today.

Without Bryant, the Lakers managed to defeat Cleveland, 98-94, and were buoyed, at least temporarily, by 24 points from forward Lamar Odom.

Bryant has had shoulder, knee and foot injuries in his nine-year career, but none were as painful as the one sustained Thursday.

"It's the worst one I've ever had," Bryant said. "Crunching, instant throbbing. A lot of pain right now. I can't hop on one leg. My foot, when it's not weight-bearing, kind of jiggles a little bit, and that hurts like crazy.

"This one might be weeks, bro. It doesn't feel like a day-to-day thing."

Bryant said he would be ready for the results of the MRI exam, whatever they may bring.

"Worst you can get is have a couple of tears in there," he said. "It's not season-ending by any means. It's just rest and recuperation. The guys will hold down the fort, I have no doubt."

The score was tied, 15-15, when Bryant went down with 5:39 left in the first quarter. He did not put any weight on his right foot as he was helped off the court by forward Brian Grant and trainer Gary Vitti.

"Everybody has to play that much better," Odom said. "One of the best players in the league goes down, we'll have to play better team basketball."

The injury was the latest to befall Bryant, who has been hit with a variety of sprains and strains since being diagnosed two months ago with plantar fasciitis in his left foot. He has also sustained a strained left shoulder and a sprained right thumb this season.

But the severity of the sprained ankle has topped all of them.

"It's the most pain I've ever seen him in, by far," said Laker spokesman John Black, who followed Bryant into the locker room.

In the short term, it meant another delay in the showdown between Bryant and LeBron James. All told, Bryant and James have been on the court together for a little more than 20 minutes in three games.

Bryant sustained a sprained right shoulder last season against Cleveland at Staples Center and left in the second quarter. He did not play in the Lakers' game in Cleveland a month later because he had sustained a cut finger.

James, in his second season, had 28 points Thursday for the Cavaliers, who came into the game with the second-best record in the Eastern Conference.

The Lakers led, 94-88, after two free throws by Caron Butler with 22.4 seconds left, but three-pointers by Jeff McInnis and James brought the Cavaliers to within 95-94. Butler made only one of two free throws, but James' three-pointer in the final seconds was no good and Odom's free throws clinched it.

Odom looked more assertive than usual, taking the ball to the basket often and making eight of 17 shots, the most attempts he has had since joining the Lakers.

Bryant has played all 82 regular-season games only once, in 2002-03. He underwent surgery on his shoulder and knee after that season.

The Lakers probably will activate rookie guard Tony Bobbitt for their next game, Saturday at Golden State.

[ALVAREZ6]

Let's go Lakers, I hope they go on an absolute tear with Bryant out. With Bryant gone, there's really no reason to hate the team.
WTF are you talking about...They're still the lakers no matter what.

I don't care if the lakers release kobe and sign Manu,Nocioni, and Delfino...

i still will hate them

[Experiment2100]

WTF are you talking about...They're still the lakers no matter what.

I don't care if the lakers release kobe and sign Manu,Nocioni, and Delfino...

i still will hate them


Hate them for what, most of their jerk fans jumped ship to Miami and Cleveland. I said most not all, I think everyone knows who I'm taking about. Not calling all Laker fans jerks, just those bandwagon jerks. Do you still hate the Jazz with Stockton, Malone, and Hornacek gone? (Hornacek is more of a personal one. I'm not sure if Jeff ended his career with them but I hated him with Pheonix too)

[Medvedenko]

Big Al...still a chump...
Oh and for all these pundits saying the Lakers are better off without Kobe need to get their head examined...each new Laker with exception of Lamar are having career years playing with Bryant and they are thick in the playoff hunt. I guess people can't take it when the Kobesters win...it's sad. This is injury is a blessing, expect us to struggle, but only time will tell. Maybe we can keep him out for the rest of the season, so we can win the lottery and get a great pick...Oh, that's what the spurs did a while back....

[Experiment2100]

When the Spurs had that forgetable season they were the third worse team in the league. The Lakers have a long way to go to lose that many.

[Medvedenko]

Well, I was being sarcastic....seriously...I hate the fact that Kobe will be sidelined for a while. This will give more PT for Sasha et al, so that's great. The team was adjusting to Kobe all season long, now he'll have to do that when he comes back. It will be interesting for him, for sure. But I guess all Spurs fans can rejoice that the "evil" is no longer, here.

[Experiment2100]

But I guess all Spurs fans can rejoice that the "evil" is no longer, here.


Damn straight, it's party time
http://members.aol.com/browrob549/emo/happy031.gif

[Medvedenko]

That's pretty cute....

[TheMagicontinues]

Haleelujja, god is listening.

Actually, how much you wanna bet that the lakers win the draft lottery?
Yea, were going to pull a S*a Antonio, have Kobe go down so we can get our Tim Duncan in the draft. :rolleyes And Kobe's the toughest player in the league, He'll be back and be ready to roll you guys in the playoffs. Be afraid, Kobe owns you!

[Experiment2100]

That's pretty cute....

I've been looking for a reason to use it for a while now.

[Supergirl]

TROLL.

2004-2005 Spurs-Lakers, 2-0.

[ladiesman]

Ira Newbel for Rasho...........

[samikeyp]

Yea, were going to pull a S*a Antonio, have Kobe go down so we can get our Tim Duncan in the draft. And Kobe's the toughest player in the league, He'll be back and be ready to roll you guys in the playoffs. Be afraid, Kobe owns you!

c'mon Magic...you're better than that.

[Phenomanul]

sprained ankle, hell be back in a few days.

Or in his case tommarow.

He has a thing for melodramatics.


It will take at least 4 weeks... I had the same exact injury last year and it hurts like hell (of course I didn't get all the medical attention he will probably get but...) .... I'd rather get kicked square in the nuts than go through one of those again.... on second thought... no. But the fact still remains, it's more than your normal variety ankle sprain.

[Sportcamper]

Don’t believe everything you folks see on TV...Just "O’l CIA Rudy" giving Kobe a much needed rest...

[Useruser666]

Don’t believe everything you folks see on TV...Just "O’l CIA Rudy" giving Kobe a much needed rest...

CIA Rudy? More like C'YA Rudy! :lol

Now Kobe can brick threes directly from the bench.

[baseline bum]

This really is a blessiing for the Lakers IMO. They're going nowhere this season and it's obvious that team isn't going to jell. Their only real hopes for adding talent are either

1) moving Odom
2) the MLE next offseason
3) the draft

I think it would be much better for them to miss the playoffs and net a real player in the draft. It looks bad for Laker fans, but it looked like a nightmare for us back in 96-97 too.

It's very hard to successfully build through free agency. You just usually have to be lucky enough to draft or trade for stars when they're young and develop them in-house. Most franchise guys are untradable and/or are happy with their situations (because they're good enough players to make their situations good), so it's tough to get them to pack up and leave without even factoring in the CBA that penalizes free-agents who leave by cutting a year off the deal and 2.5% off the base yearly raise.

Look at the players drafted 9 and later the last few years:

Dirk Nowitzki
Amare Stoudemire
Paul Pierce
Ron Artest
Andrei Kirilenko
Shawn Marion
Zach Randolph
Corey Maggette
Rashard Lewis
Richard Jefferson
Manu Ginobili
Gilbert Arenas
Jamaal Magloire
Tony Parker
Desmond Mason
Al Harrington
Cuttino Mobley
Bonzi Wells
Quentin Richardson
Joe Johnson
Jason Terry
Jamaal Tinsley
Tayshaun Prince

[Medvedenko]

They will still make the playoffs.
Slava and Sasha will hold down the fort.

[adidas11]

That ankle injury looked serious last night. I wouldn't be surprised if Kobe is done for the year.

If the reports are true about ligament damage, then forget about it.

[ALVAREZ6]

That ankle injury looked serious last night. I wouldn't be surprised if Kobe is done for the year.

If the reports are true about ligament damage, then forget about it.
Poor lakers.

So my manu all star hopes are still alive!

[Frenchise player]

It seems he is only off for two weeks

[boutons]

Injured Bryant Out for at Least 5 Weeks

# Lakers say they don't yet know exactly how long their star, hurt in Thursday night's game, will be out.


From Associated Press

Kobe Bryant will miss at least five games with a severely sprained right ankle, but the Los Angeles Lakers said today they won't know exactly how long he'll be out for another 72 hours.

Lakers coach Rudy Tomjanovich said Bryant, hurt in the first quarter of Thursday night's game against Cleveland, would be placed on the injured list and replaced on the roster by rookie guard Tony Bobbitt before Saturday night's game at Golden State.

An MRI exam today confirmed Bryant has a severely sprained ankle. The Lakers said he'll be re-evaluated Monday and an estimate on how long he'll be sidelined will be given at that time.

Bryant is the NBA's second-leading scorer with a 27.5-point average. He was injured when he landed on Ira Newble's right foot while going for a rebound under the Cavaliers' basket.

"We will miss him greatly, but this is an opportunity to grow as a team," Tomjanovich said before the Lakers flew to Oakland for their game against the Warriors.

"It puts a way bigger burden on me. We know Lamar (Odom) will get more plays, but I've got to call these things for other guys and get people in the right positions, because Kobe was in those positions and he carried a lot of the load."

Odom scored 24 points to equal a season-high in the Lakers' 98-94 victory over the Cavaliers, raising their record to 19-15.

Regarding Bryant's injury, Tomjanovich said: "It happens all the time in this league. You ever play poker? You take the hand you're dealt and you play with it. You don't worry about what if I've gotten this or what if I've gotten that."

When asked what kind of hand he had, Tomjanovich laughed: "I'm not giving up my cards," he said.

X-rays taken shortly after Bryant was injured were normal, but after the game he said he knew the injury was serious.

"This one might be weeks -- it doesn't feel like a day-to-day thing," Bryant said late Thursday. "It hurts, it hurts a lot. It's the worst one I've ever had. I am in a lot of pain right now. I am just trying to stay off of it right now."

"Crunching and instant throbbing" is how Bryant described his immediate feeling.

"The worst it can get is that I have a couple tears in there. It's not season-ending by any means," he said. "It is just rest and recuperation and I am happy about that. I am happy it's just an MRI and there is no fracture or anything like that. I just need to rest. The guys will hold down the fort, I have no doubt."

Bryant, 26, has played in every Lakers game this season despite having soreness in his left foot due to plantar fasciitis. He entered Thursday night's game averaging an NBA-leading 43.1 minutes per game.

Bryant grabbed his ankle in obvious pain upon hitting the floor. Teammate Brian Grant and trainer Gary Vitti helped him off the court and into the Staples Center tunnel, where Grant and injured Los Angeles forward Devean George carried him into the locker room.

"He went up for the rebound and I kind of nudged him a little bit by mistake and basically fell into him as my momentum was going that way," Newble said. "I was trying to catch myself and he came down on his ankle funny. It's just an accident."

Bryant had two points and three assists before leaving.

"They just gutted it out," Bryant said of his teammates. "They stepped up and were really aggressive and assertive. It was a great all-around game."

Bryant signed a seven-year, $136.4 million contract last summer to stay with the rebuilt Lakers, who traded Shaquille O'Neal to Miami and Gary Payton to Boston. Karl Malone, Derek Fisher and coach Phil Jackson also left.

"Kobe brings a lot and not one guy can replace him, but collectively a group of guys can really make it happen," said Caron Butler, who had 21 points and 11 rebounds against the Cavaliers.

The good news is the Lakers' upcoming schedule -- following their game at Golden State, they play nine straight games at Staples Center including a designated road game against the Clippers.

[samikeyp]

"Crunching and instant throbbing" is how Bryant described his immediate feeling

I have been there. I have sprained my ankles and broken one. It is a sick sound and makes you momentarily queasy.

[FilSpursFan]

sprained ankle, hell be back in a few days.

Or in his case tommarow.

He has a thing for melodramatics.

Scared of LeBron James?

:drunk :smokin

[SequSpur]

Another Laker Kobe topic in the Spurs forum.

Nice.

[ducks]

Scared of LeBron James?

:drunk :smokin


KOBE>>>>>>>>>>>>>JAMES
he has proved he is clutch in postseason

[Ed Helicopter Jones]

Kobe's ankle probably hurts every time he looks at the Lakers spot in the standings.